The upcoming Tennessee game (12-14-08)

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by cadams

I am pretty happy with the LT they got in the draft. I wouldn't trade Slayton and Brown for Clady right now, maybe in the long run, but not at this point. Also, while I am happy to bash personnel decisions made by this team, smith and kubiak have done a pretty good job in the drafts so far, so I am not going to call them picking slayton "dumb luck", unless you are saying him still being there is dumb luck. of course that can be said about a lot of players, but that is how winning franchises are made and sustained (the texans are not one, but the draft is the way to do it). I guess you could also say that brady being picked in the 6th round was dumb luck, but i will take that kind of luck every year, of course, the patriots consistently have good drafts, so maybe picking players in later rounds isn't all "dumb luck" after all.


p.s. slayton is playing at a pro bowl level in his rookie season as well.

Texans had 2 picks in the third round of this years Draft in which they selected Antwaan Moulden followed by Steve Slaton. So like I said, dumb luck. And the Brady pick in the 6th round by the Pats wasn't dumb luck, it was incredibly dumb luck. No, make that World-Class dumb luck. But I would agree with your remark about Slaton & Brown vs Clady - I'd also be hard-pressed to make that trade. But as you say, its still too soon to know for sure about that comparison.
But except for Okoye (who's starting to look like a 4-letter word that begins with "B"), Smith & Kubiak get an A for their Draft performances so far. Now if
only we could get the same kind of results out of their FA selections ?

[barrett]

Its not dumb luck.

Now is their an element of luck involved? Sure. The Texans tried to draft a good 3rd down back and accidentally got a good back. They still had to scout him and like him more than the other 200 or so guys available at the time. So if anything, I'd call it "smart luck."

By the way, the Patriots drafted Brady on the word of one scout in their organization who liked him. When asked about it, the guy who ran their draft that year said "yeah we're real smart. So smart we passed on him 5 times."

So obviously luck plays a role, but it's not like we crossed our fingers and Steve Slaton appeared. You have to give credit, otherwise you can't blame a team for being unlucky on a bad pick.

[cadams]

A buddy of mine just sent me this link. It is SI's redraft of this year's 1st roudn of the draft based on performance so far . . .Brown and Slayton are in the top 12


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...x.html?eref=T1

[coloradodude]

Dumb luck?

More like, doing your homework and being ready for the draft when its your turn.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by barrett

Its not dumb luck.

Now is their an element of luck involved? Sure. The Texans tried to draft a good 3rd down back and accidentally got a good back. They still had to scout him and like him more than the other 200 or so guys available at the time. So if anything, I'd call it "smart luck."

By the way, the Patriots drafted Brady on the word of one scout in their organization who liked him. When asked about it, the guy who ran their draft that year said "yeah we're real smart. So smart we passed on him 5 times."

So obviously luck plays a role, but it's not like we crossed our fingers and Steve Slaton appeared. You have to give credit, otherwise you can't blame a team for being unlucky on a bad pick.

Don't you honestly think that had the Texans had a "clue" how extremely valuable Slaton potentially could have been to their team, they would have at the very least used the first of their two third round picks to draft him ?

[Joshua]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

Don't you honestly think that had the Texans had a "clue" how extremely valuable Slaton potentially could have been to their team, they would have at the very least used the first of their two third round picks to draft him ?

I absolutely think they had a "clue." I think they had a clue they were getting an explosive runner with home run speed, which is exactly what he is. On the flipside, they were probably somewhat skeptical of his ability to pick up tough yards between the tackles and to withstand NFL punishment. Luckily for us, so far he has quieted these fears. However, in my book, perceiving potential weaknesses in a draftee's abilities does not equate to being clueless. I also think they knew they were getting a very raw product in Molden who may take a few years to develop and they are not at all surprised that Slaton is paying quicker returns.

[cadams]

agreed, or they felt, correctly, that slayton would still be there at their next pick and molden might not be given the value of corners in the nfl

[papabear]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

Texans had 2 picks in the third round of this years Draft in which they selected Antwaan Moulden followed by Steve Slaton. So like I said, dumb luck. And the Brady pick in the 6th round by the Pats wasn't dumb luck, it was incredibly dumb luck. No, make that World-Class dumb luck.

By that rationale you could say MArio Williams was dumb luck...or any pick in the draft for that matter, and you would be at least partly right.

But except for Okoye (who's starting to look like a 4-letter word that begins with "B"),

I still thinks it's way too early to call Okoye a bust. He might never be an all pro, but if you can just get a solid starter out of the first round you are ahead of the curve in most cases. I would say Okoye has been less the solid, but considering his age when drafted and the position he plays making any kind of judgment on his career before he finishes his second season is pre-mature.